The parents of a close-knit, multi-generational family wanted a quiet and easily maintained urban retreat as a comfortable place for their family to enjoy a variety of experiences, alone or together, particularly outdoors. They were also extremely interested in land stewardship. In response, LGA Architectural Partners master planned the family’s existing home into an unusual and holistic environment that exemplifies a new form of luxury: a non-material and restorative environment that is designed to foster connections with both family and nature. In an affluent area of Toronto and on the bank of a tributary of the Don River, the property is unique, a blurring of indoor and outdoor spaces that engage the family with their setting while also fostering biodiversity and wellness.

What started out as a relatively minor remodel of a modest bungalow evolved over the course of construction into a new 2,500 s.f. house, with the existing foundation and footprint as the only original elements. The Bojanics acted as owner-builders, keeping construction costs to a bare minimum. The end result was a uniquely collaborative effort; one where the design was worked out on a day-to-day basis during construction in a manner that bordered on improvisation.

The Sinbad Creek House project started in 2008, when the owners – a couple, newly retired from the biotech field and avid horseback riders – decided they wanted to be able to spend more time enjoying the outdoors. Desiring a change from condominium living, they purchased a bucolic 5.3 acre hillside lot in rural Sunol, with unique views in three directions: a beautiful up-slope hillside with mature oaks and a giant walnut tree to the east, a canyon ridge to the west, and Mission Peak to the south. They imagined a modern residence that would embrace its beautiful setting, take advantage of the site’s many vistas, and allow for multiple ways of enjoying the surrounding natural environment.

Building into the existing context of a hillside was a challenge, which Pier7 confronted with simplicity and clarity. Guiding the light through the building and meticulously considering every detail was of utmost importance. The brief called for a one storey house towards the street, typical for this residential area in Düsseldorf. By cleverly offsetting the facade a scale floor is inserted, thus creating the illusion of a one storey building. As the building evolves towards the garden, the volumes are carved into the Hillside and the house becomes two and three storeys tall. The facade opens up towards a panoramic green landscape and simultaneously offers privacy. This allows for a private pool and a two level terrace. The ground level opens up towards the garden thus becoming one with nature. In the evening an ambient illumination adds a special touch to the facade and trees.

On a street of historic, working-class cottages in Toronto’s west end, adjacent to a railway line and a supermarket parking lot, a vacant auto-body shop may have seemed like an unlikely impetus for a residence with a domestic character. The clients—Debbie Adams, a graphic designer, and Peter Fleming, a furniture designer/craftsman—had a limited budget but considerable talent and resources. Working with Levitt Goodman Architects, the project became a laboratory for artistic collaboration and experimentation. Over several years they have transformed the industrial site into an artful urban oasis.

The architecture of the house explores a play of volumes, materials and stark play of light & shadow. The volume blocking is strong & rigid with a further accentuation through contrasting materials – the stunning corten steel with stark whites. Corten steel is used prominently on the façade with seamless joining techniques following a strict geometry. The monotony of white blocks is broken with sharp block patterns created through aluminum grooves.

This project is the renovation of a unit in a twenty-five year old apartment building for a married couple. We inserted a single wooden wall into the unit, which is already partitioned by the existing structural concrete walls. Passing from the entrance through the entire interior space, the wooden wall organizes a series of spaces along its length.

The Cielo Mar residence is a collaboration project between NY-based firm Barnes Coy Architects, who created the original concept & design of the home, and SARCO Architects Costa Rica who performed the design development, final plans and construction management of the project.